Shining Armor looked down at his marefriend, “Cadence, you know I have to go. I signed up for this sort of thing.”
Cadence wiped her hoof across her eyes, “Shiny, don’t you be a hero. I couldn’t lose you, please come back.”
“I will, Cadey, I’ll be back, and we’ll get married. I promise.”
She let go of his hoof and he started to merge into the line of soldiers marching down the road, on their way to the Griffon kingdom.
“Shiny, keep your head down. Promise me.”
He nodded. He would do everything he could to come back to his mare, and to his family.
__
The battle raged across seven hundred miles of border, Griffons and Ponies falling left and right. One group of Griffons had Shining Armor’s squad pushed back onto the back-side of a hill. He fired his horn over the dirt, dropping one Griffon in his tracks. With a howl of pain, one of his fellow soldiers dropped, clutching his bleeding side. Another salvo from the Unicorns in the squad pushed the Griffons back enough for the Pegasi to rocket up into the sky, including a young filly with a wandering eye. Derpy Doo shot into the sky, made a flawless backflip, and slammed into the dirt just a few meters from him.
“Commander, we’ve got a clear spot to advance. If we move quickly, we can get to a better position!”
The Commander smiled, and pointed forward, “GO!” Horns blasting away, the Unicorns led the Earth Pony artillery forward over the hill, through the field of corpses, into a natural trench that formed a bunker for them to set up the cannon. The Pegasi dropped in quickly.
__
Cadence looked at the paper sitting in front of her. War reporters said the war was going well. The Griffons were being pushed back. Of course, the number of her neighbors who were receiving death-notices made her heart heavy. She was dreading getting a letter of her own. Twilight Sparkle, Shining’s little sister, held her close, “He’ll be fine. My BBBBFF has the best shielding spells in Equestria.”
“I sure hope you’re right, Twilight.”
__
“We’re getting overrun here! I need a volunteer!” For a moment nopony raised their hooves, “Somepony to run back and get us some back-up!”
In an instant, Shining Armor’s hoof snapped up. His shields were strong enough to cover him for the run, and the reinforcements on the way back. The commander smiled, “We can hold on long enough for you to get back. Go.”
__
Shining Armor stood at the front of a line of stallions, uniform battered, but worn with honor and pride. Cadence stood, hoof-to-hoof with him, “Shining Armor, you promised you wouldn’t be a hero.”
“I’m just doing my job, Cadence. I’ll be back in no time, and we’ll be wed that day.”
He didn’t miss the tears rolling down her face, the fear in her eyes, “I swear, Cadence, these Griffons won’t harm a hair on my head.”
__
Ditzy cheered as she saw the arriving squads, “He’s back! Shining Armor’s back!”
Shining Armor arrived, screaming as he sprinted across the ground, horn glowing brightly. A blue dome, covered in gore and junk, and shielding a squad. He reached the line, passed by the commander, and stopped at the bottom of the hill. The shield arrived, and washed over the remnant, followed by galloping hooves as the reinforcements shot past them, tearing into the Griffons. The commander patted Shining Armor on the shoulder, “Good job, colt. You’ve made it. You’re a hero.”
“I…I…”
The white Unicorn dropped to the ground, and rolled onto his back, revealing the five Griffon arrows sunken into his chest. “I’m sorry Cadence. I couldn’t keep my promise.”
__
The newspaper declared it a victory, the Griffons had surrendered all along the line, busted up by a backup force brought in by Shining Armor. She smiled at that. He had brought the end of the war. That was good. The letter sitting on her desk though, and heavy with paper and something else. It had a spot of blood in the corner. She refused to open it.
Twilight Sparkle picked up the letter, “Cadence, You need to open this letter. I’m certain that Shiny wanted you to read it, or he wouldn’t have sent it to you.”
Cadence placed her hoof on the letter, “Twilight, I know you think that, but…” She picked up the letter in her magic, “Twilight, go outside and play. I’ll be out soon.”
She peeled the tab back carefully, just like when she had first gotten it, but this time, she didn’t stop and reseal it. She pulled the letter out, shaking it to dislodge the gold horn-ring and the purple medal it was wrapped around. The embossed heart on the medal made her almost stick the letter back in the envelope.
Instead, she unfolded it and began to read.
Dear Mi Amore Cadenza, Cadence, I promised you I would come home, and we would be married. You warned me not to be a fool, to not throw my life away. Well, I got to be a hero today. Saved my squad, well, mostly. A few of them didn’t make it, but Steel-hoof is supposed to make a full recovery. Dark Shroud’s horn will be fully grown back in a couple of weeks. Crusher’s feathers will be back within the season, so he won’t have to wear those ugly prosthetics to fly, and Doc says Ditzy’s eye is alright.
I took a few arrows to the chest, but the Doc says it’s not that bad. This letter will reach you before I do, but I wanted to make sure you got the ring I picked up for you on my way back out. See you soon, Cadey.
-Shining Armor
At the bottom of the letter, in different horn-writing, was a slightly smaller message, written concisely and to the point,
Private Shining Armor is being held for medical treatment at the Canterlot South Lunar Hospital for recovery. Due to injuries sustained in combat, he has received the attached Purple Heart. His expected release from the hospital is on August Fifteenth, though he will continue to meet with therapists to regain his full mobility and Magical capability for at least two years.
PS: Lady Cadenza, your fiancée did an amazing thing for us. I don’t know what it was you said to him, but when he awoke with his chest open on the operating table, he very clearly emphasized that he didn’t want to be late to his wedding, and we’d better get him stitched back up and on his feet immediately. You’re lucky to have such a devoted stallion fighting for you. Thank you.
A tear rolled down her face, and she let it. Shining Armor had survived. The tear fell to the ground and exploded in the silence, followed by a rain of them. Both sorrow and joy filled the puddles on the ground by her hooves. The loss of so many, but the safety of so many more.